Foldable shoe-tree.



W. R. BUXTON.

FOLDABLE SHOE TREE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 5. 1916.

I 1 03,700. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

WITNESS IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNE YS.

wnnivna a. BUXTQN, or SPRINGFIELD, M ssAcH snrrs.

FOLDABLE SHOE-TREE.

rename.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedNov. 7, 1916.

Application filed February 5, 1916. Serial No. 76,317.

- which are foldable into small compass.

This invention is particularly intended to satisfy a large and growingdemand'for a device which will not only eiiiciently preserve the shapeof shoes but which will also fold into convenient form so that, forexample, it may be carried conveniently with other travelingaccessories. Such a foldable shoe tree finds favor especially withtravelers and. everyone who is accustomed to using shoe trees at homedesires also to use them while traveling. No shoe tree has, however,been provided, heretofore, which can. be so conveniently carried about,and be available for, use at all times. For the most part, the foldableshoe trees heretofore designed are bulky, odd-shaped articles which arenot. even conveniently packed "in a suit case. Furthermore, the shoetrees in com mon use generally employ specially formed toeand heelpieces which are shaped to fit the interior of the shoe. Such membersare without doubt useful in shoe trees adapted for. home use but are notas conveniently adapted for use as those with which this invention isconcerned.

An object of the invention is to provide a shoe tree, comprisingskeleton heel and toe pieces interconnected by toggle links, which isfoldable into flat, thin,vcompact and substantially rectangular formwhereby it may conveniently be carried in the pocket.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide in a device of the classdescribed, a heel member revolubly connected with one of thetogglelink's which member is movable into the plane of the folded linksand toe piece to preserve the flat, thin, and compact form of thefolded-shoe tree butwhich is also movable through substantially ninetydegrees to occupy an upright position within the. shoe and engage arelatively large por-. tion of the vertical curvature of the heel.

Qther j an ad ant ge will appe r in the description to follow and in theannexed claims.

For the purpose of illustrating one way in which the invention may bepractised, a single preferred formthereof is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the shoe tree Withtheparts in folded relation; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 isa cross-sew tional view taken on; the line3,3 of Fig, 1 and looking inthe direction of the arrows;

and Figs. and 5. are diagrammatical views illustrating the manner ofusing the shoe tree. 1 Referring to these drawingsin detail, the severalmembers of. the shoe tree are preferably constructed of flat thin metaland: formed into the desired shape by bending. The use of such materialis particularly ad-. vantageous as it permits an inexpensive, yet rigid,construction which is. readily folda e.

1 represents the toe piece of the shoe tree which is bent into. U-formasshown in Fig. 1 andis adapted to engage the toefof a shoe with itsforward rounded end, as shown in Fig. 1. The spaced legs 2 of the ushaped toe piece 1' are substantially parallel and each; thereofisformed with a plurality of holes or eyes 3 2). Arranged cen-a trallywith respect to the legs Q is a link 4: which forms one member of atoggle as willlater appear. Pivotally connected to one end of the link 4at 5v are a pair of links 6, which are arranged one on either side oflink t and are suitably offset by bending so that their otherextremities lie'adjacent and parallel to legs 2. Pins 7 riveted to theends of links 6 are'adapted to engage with any of the holes .3 in legs 2and. are readily removable from "a given pair of holes by springing thevlinks inwardly toward the, link a. By this construction, the length ofthe shoe tree may be varied within wide limits to fit any ordinary sizeof shoe. Pivoted to the end of link; 4 is a heel piece l1 no ma y i psed n. he ommon plane of the folded members-2, 4t, and 6 but which ismovable through substantially ninety degrees to the position indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 3.- The outer edge of the heel piece 9 isslightly rounded as shown in Fig. 1 and has projections 10 traek p.theretr m to n ag t x m th counter of the heel and prevent slipping aswill later be described. The member 9 I has inturned ends 11 spaced fromthe round ed heel engaging portion and formed centrally in the lowerends thereof are notches 12. On each member 10, one of the projectionsformed on either side of notch 12, viz., the projection 13, is cut downso that, as the member 9 is turned in the direction of the arrow to thedotted line position folded from the U-shaped toe piece 1 and broughtupwardly at an acute angle to one another until the toe piece 1 can beslid into the shoe. The end piece 10 is turned Thereafter by pressure onthe knuckle of the toggle links 4 and 6, the heel and toe pieces areforced into engagement with the extremities of the shoe as shown in Fig.4. Continued pressure on the knuckle of the toggle forces the center 5across the imaginary line connecting the pin 7 and the center of member9 so that the parts are held in the relative positions shown in Fig. 5.The projections 10 prevent the member 9 from sliding upwardly on thesmooth heel counter under pressure. It is particularly desirable tosecure a relatively extensive engagement with the heel in a verticaldirection and such an engagement has been obtained'in this device by therotatable heel piece 9. The latter,however, is, when not in use, movableinto the plane of the folded links and toe piece to conform to the flatthin form of the folded article. When so moved, it also protects thejoined end of links 4 and legs 2 and forms a nicely rounded end for thesubstantially rectangular shaped folded article.

It will be noted that the shoe tree is foldable into perfectly flat,relatively thin, and compact form and that each member of the articlehas been carefully designed for cooperative relation with the othermembers so that the finished shoe tree is foldable into compact form. Asshown in Fig. 1, the links 6 and U-shaped toe piece are substantiallyco-extensive in length and the former readily fold within the other andinto the same plane. The link 4 folds within the links 6 and also intothe same plane and the heel piece 9 may be turned into the common planeof the folded members to produce a compactly folded article of uniformthickness and of substantially rectangular form.

It is recognized that modifications may be made in the structure hereindescribed for illustrative purposes without departing from the scope ofthe invention which is defined by the appended claims rather than by theforegoing description of one preferred form.

lVhat I claim is 1. A shoe tree, adapted to be folded into smallcompass, comprising, a U-shaped toe piece, a rounded heel member, andtoggle 1 member having a pivotal connection with i:

one of said links and adapted to be moved from a position at rightangles to the plane of the toe piece to a position in the latter plane,all constructed andarranged so that the shoe tree may be folded intoflat, thin, and compact form. r

2. A foldable shoe tree, comprising, in combination, a U-shaped toepiece, a pair of links having adjustable pivotal connection at one endwith the inner sides of said toe piece and offsetso that the other endsare brought, inwardly toward one another, an other link pivoted at oneend to and between said offset ends, and a heel piece pivoted to theopposite end of the last-namedlink, said pair of links and last-namedlink adapted to force and hold the toe and heel pieces apart with atoggle action, all constructed and arranged so that the last-named linkfolds within said pair of links and the'folded links fold within andinto the plane of the U-shaped toe piece, said heel piece being movableinto the common plane of the links and U-shaped member, whereby the shoetree may be folded in flat, compact, r

and substantially rectangular form.

3. A shoe tree adapted to be folded into small compass, comprising, aU-shaped part adapted to engage the toe of a shoe, a

rounded member adapted to engage the heel Ii 1 of a shoe, a linkconnected to said member and disposed centrally with respect to saidpart and links on opposite sides of said firstnamed link and pivotallyconnected thereto, each of said last-named links having a detachablepivotal connection with a leg of said U-shaped part, said links adaptedto force said part and member into engagement with the extremities of ashoe and to hold them in their moved position with a toggle action, allconstructed and arranged so that the first-named link folds within saidlast-named links and the folded links fold within the U-shaped partwhereby the shoe tree may be folded into fiat, thin, comi pact form.

4. A foldable shoe tree, comprising, a Ushaped toe piece having arounded end adapted to engage the toe of a shoe and two spaced parallellegs, a plurality of eyes formed in each of the latter, a link arrangedcentrally with respect to said toe piece, a pair of links pivoted at oneend to the firstnamed link on opposite sides thereof, each link of saidpair having means at the other end engageable in any of the eyes in saidU-shaped member and arranged to bear laterally thereagainst with a.spring action, and a rounded heel piece mounted 011 the end of saidfirst-named link, all constructed and arranged so that the toe and heelpieces may be adjusted for length to fit any desired shoe and so thatthe said toe and heel pieces may be forced and held apart Within theshoe by a toggle action of said links.

5. A shoe tree, adapted to be folded into small compass, comprising, aU-shaped toe piece, a pair of links pivotally connected at one end totheinner sides of said toe V able one within another and Within and intothe same plane as said toe piece, said heel piece adapted to be movedinto the common plane of the folded links and toe piece and to be movedto a position at right angles to said plane, said arms adapted to engagethe edges of said last-named link to yieldably hold the heel piece innormal relation thereto. 1

WARNER R. BUXTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

